Feeling Proud?

Have you ever done something which others might consider insignificant but that actually made you feel really proud of yourself? Like the first time, as a kid, that you managed to tie your own shoelaces; everyone learns how do to it and it’s second nature now but, at the time, you could have burst with pride. When you do things like that as a child everyone congratulates you on a job well done which adds to your sense of satisfaction but, as an adult, the best you’ll get is a slightly quizzical look and ‘and?……’.

Have you ever done something which others might consider insignificant but that actually made you feel really proud of yourself? Like the first time, as a kid, that you managed to tie your own shoelaces; everyone learns how do to it and it’s second nature now but, at the time, you could have burst with pride. When you do things like that as a child everyone congratulates you on a job well done which adds to your sense of satisfaction but, as an adult, the best you’ll get is a slightly quizzical look and ‘and?……’. Why is that? If we do something that beats our own teeny tiny inner demons, even if it’s something that others do without really thinking about it can’t we, at least, have a smile and a ‘well done’ as a reward?

BravoIt’s probably because we don’t tell anyone about it, we realise that no-one else will really be interested in our little accomplishment, let alone proud of us, so we just keep it to ourselves and our quiet satisfaction diminishes just a little. I’d really like to change that so I invite you all to share your proud moment here and I promise that I will give you the congratulations that you deserve.

In the interests of getting the ball rolling I’ll share with you the reason that I had to be silently proud yesterday…….

As many of you know, I have no sense of direction, to the point that, at the age of 50, I got lost in a service station in Italy and am incapable of going anywhere without the age of my trusty (if slightly bossy and irritating) SatNav. Yesterday, I met some friends for lunch in Villefranche Sur Mer which is about 45 minutes drive from where I live and, as usual, before I set off, I entered the address into the SatNav. I’d been there before so I had an idea where I was going but, with me, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

DrivingSo, I set off and all was going well until the Satnav lady started interrupting my favourite song with a bizarre instruction about turning left. This would not have been amiss if there was actually a left turning ahead but there wasn’t….I was in a tunnel??? What the bloody hell was she going on about? I figured out, in the end, that another road joined the tunnel and I should keep in my lane and follow the bend which inclined to the left. All of this took brain power which could have been more productively used concentrating on maneuvering my car through said tunnel. She confused me again by telling me to turn left 300 metres ahead, then immediately turn sharp right. Now, I can happily visualise one metre (sort of) but 300? That was going to take some thinking about and, what did she mean by immediately…..??? The upshot of this was that I turned left too early, found no sharp right immediately after and had to take a small detour, all the while praying that Satnav lady would hurry up and reset herself…

Anyway, for the journey home, I decided that she got on my nerves so I was going to ignore her and just follow the signposts. I admit I was nervous when I set off but there is only one road out of the town and I managed to follow it without incident so I considered that a promising start. Shortly afterwards I saw a sign to Monaco, excellent! I eagerly followed the road which got steeper and narrower as time went on. Eventually, when I was panicking in case I met a bicycle coming the other way, let alone another car, I came to a crossroads and, lo and behold, there was another signpost to lead me home – joy of joys!

HuhIt was at this point I realised that, although I had come in on the coastal road, I now appeared to be on a mountain road…..right, well, not to worry, just follow the signs. I did and arrived in Monaco (hurrah!) only to find myself stuck in a huge queue of traffic. Rather than sit there for ages, needing a wee (knew I should have gone before I left the restaurant), I decided to turn off the main road and head off back into the mountains. I came across a  signpost which directed me to a village that I recognised and I knew that, if I got there, I could find my way home….

I DID IT!!! I found my way home, through the mountains, with out the aid of Satnav lady!!! This, I realise, would be of little import to those of you with even the vaguest sense of direction but I was really proud of myself :O)

So, there you go, I’ve told you mine, now you tell me yours; we all deserve a bit of praise for our little achievements ;O)

Lisa

x

 

Author: FabFitFunFifty

For women over 50 who don't feel fifty

31 thoughts on “Feeling Proud?”

  1. Well…. tying shoe laces… always did that badly. No laces in my life right now. Feeling smug.
    the “and? so what?” moment…. many of them. If I put them here it will be a long read. I explained to people I beat the olympic champion in the New York marathon. ok, he didn’t finish. The reaction – NOTHING. I never understood that. I was proud of beating him, not my fault he quit 🙂
    Another time,someone asked me for directions, I couldn’t figure it out so just drove them. I liked that too 🙂 Obviously there are many others so good, I couldn’t possibly mention them here 🙂

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    1. You FINISHED a marathon!! Sod the other guy, you finished a marathon – that’s something to be incredibly proud of Tim :O) As is helping someone out when they really needed it – big pat on the back and a ‘hurrah’ for you xx

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  2. Oh this post is so dear. You had me cracking up 😂

    Growing up, my parents always discredited my achievements saying that it’s nothing compared to their sacrifices. It totally affected how I view accomplishments. I’m so glad for this post. You have no idea. 😇

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      1. Thanks! I’ve decided to accept and be proud of the stories of my life – be it good or bad. It took me years, but I just recently learned to share them just like any other stories of my childhood. 😊

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  3. I am very impressed as I don’t drive ( not since I was 20 ) and if I did, getting lost would be very likely. But most moments when we can be proud are not seen by anyone else – eg your manager never sees when a customer or passenger is really happy with how you looked after them.

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  5. I felt proud when I got my degree in my forties, because my school headmaster had said, “You are not degree material Lorraine.” And he hustled me off to teacher training college, where I prompltly failed because it was the wrong career for me. I went on to do a Masters and a Ph.D but the old sod is dead now so I can’t go and rattle him over the bead with my certificates lol

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  6. Wow, that’s impressive!👏👏
    As always, your post is thought provoking and exciting!❤️

    Well, I am pretty proud of being able to adapt to my “housewife” tag, especially when I don’t get paid for the jobs that I do!😉

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  9. Hello Friend. I was partly browsing through posts here on WordPress when I came across this post from you. It was interesting to read it and notice your excitement over finding your direction. I too used to struggle a bit with finding directions. During my college days, I would not go grocery shopping unless there was a friend who would offer to take me. We took the bus, but still, I would rather have them go with me so that I do not miss the way. As you can imagine. many of them were reluctant to do this. There was a lot of grumbling, and some of them outright yelled at me. Somehow, I managed to find my way around by myself. What is your actual issue with direction? You may be like me, the actual issue was my fear of getting lost. I spent more time freaking out than I did trying to find the way.

    I do not think it is a little achievement. Any achievement in an area that we are struggling is not little. Other people might not see the cause of your excitement because they see you as this grown man. However, in the eyes of God, you are still his child. God is that person who cares about your every step. He is delighted even when you just turn towards the right path, before you even begin to take steps. God cares about even the most minute details of our lives. Maybe it is time to stop telling people, and start telling God.

    I do not know whether you have a relationship with God or not. If you already have a good relationship with God, congratulations, you are on the right path. You do not need to read this comment any further. Chances are high that if you have a relationship with God, you probably already know everything that I am about to tell you. I would say this, keep praying, keep obeying him, and keep trusting in him, and he would come through for you. However, if you do not yet have a relationship with God, you are in luck, here are some exciting details about God that you need to know:

    You may have heard that God is the creator of the universe and everything within it. This claim is 100% true. God did create everything in the universe, including us humans. Like a good father loves his children, God loves each and every one of us dearly. He likes to provide for us, to bless us, and to help us. His intention is to provide for us in this life and to also grant us eternal life. Eternal life is the life after this life that we are currently living, you can simply call it the after-life. Eternal life would last forever. Not everybody would gain access into the eternal life. Since that life would last forever and in it people would not die, it would not make sense to allow in violent people, liars, thieves and others. Since these people would not die, there would be no end to the problems that they would cause. Therefore, only the purest people are allowed in. We humans cannot be pure by ourselves. We are prone to envy, lying, cheating others and so much more. We learn to do these bad things from such a young age, by the time we reach adulthood, we are already too far gone in it. For this reason, God sent his son Jesus to die for our sins. So that we can be easily redeemed and saved. The blood of Jesus has made us pure and worthy. After the death of Jesus, all we need to do is to believe in Jesus and obey the Word of God, and those are the core for gaining access into eternal life. Like I mentioned earlier, God loves to bless us, and he desires to give us everything that we need. However, because God exists in the spiritual realm and we exist in the physical realm, we need to learn to understand how God communicates and to build a relationship with him in order to understand him. Over the course of building a relationship with him, you would understand how he works and how to locate the blessings that he has sent to you both in this life and for the next.

    God loves us like a good father loves his children. He wants us to love him too. However, like any good father, he wants you to confide in him and tell him everything. Tell him about the things that you are happy for, the things you wish you could change, the things that make you smile, tell him about your direction issues etc. God wants to hear everything. He is also willing to help in any way that he can, if what you are asking for is in line with his will.

    The Bible says in Philippians 4:6
    ” Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.

    God loves us and he wants the best for us. Bear in mind that what we think is best for us is not always what is best for us. God wants what is truly best for us.

    God says in Jeremiah 29:11
    “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

    I would suggest that you begin a relationship with God and start to enjoy his sweet fellowship. He can enrich your life with his presence. He really is the almighty.

    If you wish to build a solid relationship with God, I would include below a lengthy and detailed suggestion on how you can do so. However, I find that many people get scared at the length of the suggestions. I want to say this, it is a step by step process, do not feel the need to execute it all in one day. Go at a pace that works for you and trust the process. Some people also get the impression that I am judging them or trying to tell them how to act or how to be, No! I do not want it to come across that way, because that is not my intention, I am simply giving friendly suggestions. Some people also get the impression that i am trying to say that if they do not do everything on my suggestion list that they would be doomed. I am not trying to say this. Also bear in mind, that although my suggestions seem lengthy, they would quickly become second nature to you. If you struggle with any of the steps, you can ask God for assistance and he would it make it easier for you.

    If you are ready, here are my suggestions:

    1. Confession of faith: you need to find a quiet space. Imagine that Jesus is in front of you. Ask him for forgiveness of your past sins and the sins of your ancestors. Ask him to give you the strength to forgive those who have offended you. Honestly, I suggest that you forgive the people who have offended you, because whatever they did to you is now in the past, and upon a confession of Jesus as your Lord, you become a new creation. In addition, God commands that we need to forgive others, before he can forgive us. You can also get a deliverance before your confession of faith. Deliverance will rid you off any ungodly spirits that have taken residence in your body and mind. A pastor with a deliverance anointing should be able to help with this. There are also videos on YouTube, where pastors with a deliverance anointing pray directly for people through the videos. You just need to search “deliverance prayer” in the search bar to reach these videos. Now, you need to tell Jesus that you want him to come and be your lord and personal savior, and surrender to him. You need to know that Jesus died for you. He died on the cross so that you may have a chance at salvation. The minute you give your life to Jesus, you need to know that you can no longer live as you wish, you shall live according to the stipulations in the bible. Believe in your heart that Jesus was risen up from the dead by God, and confess with your mouth that he is the messiah and your personal savior.

    2. Prayers: ask Jesus to bless you with eternal life. Tell him to make a place for you in his heavenly abode. You need to understand that praying for heaven is the best prayer that you can ever pray. Life on earth is so short, you need to be worried about eternal life, which is so much longer. God knows that you need clothes, food, shelter etc. He is your creator and he knows your every need. The bible tells us to pray for eternal life and God would provide our other needs (i.e. clothes, shelter etc.) according to his riches. If there is something bothering you, tell God in prayer, commit it to him and ask him to do it for you. However, bear in mind that this life is temporary and so are the things in this life. When you are praying, the devil will try to disrupt your prayers by bringing sudden disturbances such as sudden phone calls or loud noises and evil thoughts. An example of an evil thought that the devil tries to use to stop people from praying is by bringing the thought that Jesus is not present and that they are simply wasting their time. Jesus is there with you when you pray. So pray like you mean it. Pray the same way you will if Jesus was right in front of you because he is. You need to understand how prayers work as well. You see, when you pray, God answers prayers. God usually has three answers to prayers Yes, Yes but Wait, and No. God has a reason for every answer that he gives. He loves you and he will make sure that everything works out well for you in the end. When you get a No from God, sometimes it is not because that thing is not good for you at that point in time, but it may be because God is trying to draw your attention to something that you are doing wrong in your life. When you get a No from God, you need to evaluate yourself, what is the motive of your prayer? is it pure? Is it Godly? Is there an area of sin in your life that you need to work on? When you reflect on these things and you find something in yourself lacking, try to fix it. When God says Yes to prayers and sends you his blessings, trust me, there are spiritual forces of the devil in high places that work against people so that their blessings from God would not reach them. You need to pray against these spiritual forces. Rebuke them by the power and the name of Jesus. This way, your blessings would be able to reach you. Lastly, some people pray lazy prayers. For example, someone might pray for a job, without actually applying to any. God does not reward laziness. When you are praying for something, you need to be putting some work in as well. God rewards hard-work and we ought to strive to be hardworking. God’s role is to direct, bless, and make your path clear. However, bear in mind that sometimes God answers even lazy prayers and gives us undeserved blessings, that shows you the power of his love. He would always be with you. You need to make sure that you are close to God in prayer. Do not cease to tell him about what you are struggling with. If you are struggling with sins of the flesh that you believe are hindering your spiritual growth, you need to make sure that you tell God. Make sure that you pray for an increment in faith. Faith is important, you need to have faith in God. When we pray, we need to have faith, God does not like it when we doubt his ability to provide us with what we want, he is mighty and nothing is impossible with him. When you are low in faith, pray to God for an increment in faith. Remember to pray for your family, your city, your country and the world in fact, no prayers are too big for God. Pray that unsaved people would be saved. Pray for your non-Christian family members, pray that they see the light and become saved. When you pray, make sure that you take care of sins. The bible says that we need to forgive others if we want our sins to be forgiven. Make sure you forgive others, ask for forgiveness of your sins first before praying. Sins can block your prayers from getting to God. Try to avoid sin, but pray for forgiveness of sins everyday, because sometimes, we are not aware of the sins that we are committing. When you get answers to your prayers, remember to thank God.

    3. The Bible: You need to make sure that you are reading the bible and that you are obeying it. I suggest you begin with the New Testament because the coming of Jesus changed many of the things that were practised before. However, bear in mind that the old testament is also important. You can find free bible apps on google play. You can also find free bibles online. The New Living Translation is an easy to read bible version. However, the most popular one is the King James Version.

    4. Hearing from God: Trust me, God would speak to you. He would speak to you through dreams. Through people, through situations, through the bible and so much more. You need to practice and perfect the art of hearing God’s voice. Dreams contain a lot of symbolism. When you possess an avid knowledge of what the bible says, you would understand the biblical meaning of all the symbols in your dreams. However, for now, you can search online bible dream dictionaries for the meaning of things you see in your dream. You also need to know that although there are general meanings for some symbols, some interpretations are based on context. Take context into account. God does communicate via dreams. Sometimes, you might be asking God for direction on something. Pay attention to the words all around you during this time i.e, the things people say, words you see when reading the bible etc. Sometimes you might even just turn on your TV and the TV anchor would say something that directly relates to what you are going through. Pay attention to these things. You would know it is God’s voice when whatever is said is not in contradiction to the bible and God’s nature. If it is in contradiction then it might just be something random that popped up. You can also hear God’s voice by meditating on him. You can do this by finding a quiet space, you can play some background Christian music if you want. During this time, close your eyes and focus on God. Do some praise and worship in your heart first, then invite Jesus to come to you. Ask a question and pay attention to any bible verses that are brought to your mind, inner voices that you hear, any general feelings etc. If what is said is in line with the bible, then it is probably God speaking. It might take several weeks before you begin to hear God via meditation. If you keep trying one method and it does not work, try another method, like paying attention to the words around you. As you practise the art of listening and hearing, God might give you the gift of seeing visions or the gift of hearing an inner voice, and take you to deeper depths of hearing.

    5. Fasting: fasting is an effective way to get God’s attention. Fasting is a way to spend time with him. You deprive yourself of food because what you seek for is more than food. There are different types of fasting, and you need to plan what works for you. There is the:

    A. Avoidance fasting: This is a fasting form where you avoid something that you cannot do without i.e. Coffee.

    B. Daniel’s fast: In this sort of fasting, you only eat fruit and vegetables and drink water. You do not eat anything cooked or anything other than fruits and vegetables.

    C. Water fast: In this sort of fasting, you do not eat anything, you only drink water. No food, just water.

    D. Total fast: In this sort of fasting, you do not eat or drink anything. You do not drink even water.

    Make sure that you work out what works for you. You can pray to God for directions on the timing of the fasting to follow. However, as a general time-frame, on fasting days, many Christians fast from 6am to 6pm. Many Christians also use those moments when they feel hungry/ feel cravings as prompts to pray. You need to have increased prayers during fasting periods.

    6. Temptations: When you believe in Jesus. Trust me, the devil sometimes would throw trials and tribulations into your life, the goal of this is to get you to denounce your faith. The goal is to frustrate you. You need to pray and fast when trials and tribulations strike. God would never leave you or forsake you. He would be with you and with God, you will overcome this if it ever happens.

    7. Spreading the gospel: Now that you know the truth, you are chosen. It is now your duty to share the truth in the bible with others. Make sure that you save people from falling prey to Satan’s tactics. You need to join the fight to depopulate the devil’s camp, while populating God’s kingdom. With spreading the gospel, do not feel the need to finish reading the whole bible before you begin. You can teach people the little you know.

    8. Read: There is a lot of material out there. There are ministers of God who have practised for about 40 years. These people have a lot of stories about their ministry. Some of them have the gift to heal others, others see visions, some of them hear God’s voice. Many of these people have written books about how they accomplished what they have accomplished, and how they got their gift. Buy these books and read them. If you do not have money, some of these ministers have shared their stories for free on YouTube, take advantage of that.

    9: Reform yourself: begin to watch Christian movies and listen to Christian music. Make sure that your thoughts, actions, and words are in obedience to the word of God. Make sure that you are not doing anything sinful in your thoughts, actions or words. Refine your world, the space around you, the things you see and hear, make it all about God. You can also join a community of bible believing Christians. However, I need to tell you that there is sectarianism in the religion. Do not pay attention to sectarianism, pay attention to the bible. The bible is your authority. If a church seems to have too much sectarianism issue going on, if they are more focused on promoting their denomination than promoting God and the word in his bible, you need to stop going there. Get a water baptism, and pray so that God would baptise you in the holy spirit.

    (I know I have written this list in the order of 1 to 9. It is crucial that you begin with Step 1. Prayers are something that you need to do constantly, so is bible study, hearing from God and reforming yourself. However, you can start small with fasting and spreading the gospel. You can start by preaching to your family members in the beginning phase of spreading the gospel, but you need to expand on these over time. I know this list seems long and all these seem deep, but trust me, you would blend into it so easily and it would become second nature to you. Pray to God to make all of these easy for you, and he will. The devil would try to trick you into believing that God’s standards are too high and that you would never overcome sin, when in actuality, you can. So therefore, pray to God and believe and he would help you overcome sin).

    If you ever backslide and fall back into sin again while trying to follow God’s word. You need to ask him to forgive you and try to get back on track. You should also ask him to strengthen you, so that you can have more strength in withstanding and blocking off sin. God would hear your prayer and he would send help according to his will.

    If you have any questions, feel free to let me know. If you need to talk, I am here for you. God bless you. Have a blessed day 🙂

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